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<title>la pitié c'est la trahison by Gon (pepperedfox)</title>
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<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/24906631">la pitié c'est la trahison</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/pepperedfox/pseuds/Gon'>Gon (pepperedfox)</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>Fate/Grand Order</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>F/M, mention of lbs but no spoilers</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>Completed</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2020-06-25</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2020-06-25</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-05-04 03:20:53</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>General Audiences</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>No Archive Warnings Apply</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>1</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>1,007</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/24906631</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/pepperedfox/pseuds/Gon</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p>“Please, let me lay down my coat. You’ll hurt your knees.”</p><p>“I appreciate your concern, but I’m not worried about my comfort. I am here to pay respects.”</p><p>All this she said with her usual grace, in that lilting and bright way of hers. It was a manner of speaking befitting a princess, a veil she always wore like a mourning widow to disguise what the people would rather not see. And Sanson, looking through her, wondered if it was not repentance she sought to give.</p><p>---</p><p>Marie mourns the Lostbelts' dead. Sanson accompanies her.</p>
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Relationships:</b></td><td>Marie Antoinette | Rider/Charles-Henri Sanson | Assassin</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Comments:</b></td><td>8</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Kudos:</b></td><td>35</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>la pitié c'est la trahison</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Marie always made a point to visit the graves. It was an odd thing for a queen to do when she knew not the people; odder still when the people in question were her enemies. Her confidants each had their gentle ways of dissuading her: Mozart with his exasperated smiles, d'eon with their softly spoken disapproval. And Sanson – Sanson no longer possessed the privilege to refuse Her Majesty, for he feared her curious attention to death was caused by his sin. When she packed her basket and fastened her cloak, Sanson put on his coat and followed her.</p><p>“Oh, Sanson, you always accompany me,” Marie said. “There’s no need to escort me if it’s a bother for you.”</p><p>“You never inconvenience me, Maria,” answered Sanson. “To simply be in your presence is a joy.”</p><p>She smiled at that, though as they walked deeper into the winding tunnels of the Wandering Sea, he fancied her smile wavered in the shadows.</p><p>The graves were little more than plain headstones tucked away in an unused room, with sketches of strangers hung over each one. Their Master erected them with the help of the more artistic Servants and, with each Lostbelt erased, a new headstone would quietly rise alongside the others, bearing another unfamiliar face. Through magic, the candles remained forever lit and the air always smelled of incense. It remained a novel scent of death to Sanson, who was accustomed to ashes, iron, and dirt.</p><p>Four graves. Four worlds. The Master had to make do with artificial flowers at first, but once the gardens were reopened, soft lilies and chrysanthemums were laid before each headstone. Marie began to kneel on the cold stone floor. Sanson dared to put a hand on her shoulder to stop her.</p><p>“Please, let me lay down my coat. You’ll hurt your knees.”</p><p>“I appreciate your concern, but I’m not worried about my comfort. I am here to pay respects.”</p><p>All this she said with her usual grace, in that lilting and bright way of hers. It was a manner of speaking befitting a princess, a veil she always wore like a mourning widow to disguise what the people would rather not see. And Sanson, looking through her, wondered if it was not repentance she sought to give.</p><p>God above, he knew of repentance. He would never be granted it in this lifetime or in the next, of that he was certain, for his sins forever outweighed his virtues. The proof knelt before him, a radiant symbol of what he chose to betray. In the wavering candlelight, the milky pale hairs on her neck seemed to softly glow. Sanson dared not look away.</p><p>“… Sanson.”</p><p>“Yes?”</p><p>“Will you be honest with me?”</p><p>What a curious entreaty. “I am nothing but honest with you, Your Majesty.”</p><p>Marie fell silent. She did not look at him and her hands remained clasped in prayer, head bowed. How often he’s seen her like this – how often he wished he didn’t. It was a sight too evocative of their final meeting.</p><p>“When I learned there were seven Lostbelts,” she said at last, “I was so afraid. Singularities only needed to be tidied up. Our solutions for them were as clear as day, for the only culprit was the Holy Grail. But these Lostbelts… I found myself wondering, ‘What if France was among them?’”</p><p>There was a terrible calm to her quiet voice, clear as a bell without a dissonant ring. It was the voice of the Queen, even if the words she spoke were of Marie.</p><p>“It’s natural to feel that way. For a queen to raise a hand against her own country… it’s unthinkable.”</p><p>“I confess, that was not my only fear. But…”</p><p>How he longed to push aside the veil, to silence the bell. On the wooden platform where the wet and gleaming guillotine awaited with its single sharp tooth, the woman who apologized to him did so not with the timbre of the Crown, but of her own soul. Marie’s neck mocked him. Abruptly, Sanson took a knee. The sudden movement made her look up in surprise.</p><p>“Then confess and I will listen,” he said. “The doctor listens to what ails his patient, the executioner listens to the criminal’s regrets, and I, a blade of the Crown, am yours. Rely on me, Maria. Use me for your relief.”</p><p>Light swelled in Marie’s eyes and she turned away to hide her face. Laughter trickled out, sweet and clear like a spring brook. Sanson could not help but smile. “You and Amadeus always have such a knack for dramatics!” she exclaimed. But there was a lightness to her voice, the weight of royal brass lifted. “It’s cute.”</p><p>“I’m… not sure if many would agree that I’m ‘cute.’”</p><p>“That’s because they only see Monsieur Sanson, not Charles-Henri.”</p><p> “If you say so.” He spoke a mite softer. “May I say something?”</p><p>“You are my dear friend. Of course you can.”</p><p>“An executioner wields his blade not out of malice, but for the sake of what must be done. It is not always an act of retribution, Marie. There are times when the guillotine must fall out of mercy, because fate is cruel and allows no other way.”</p><p>Her gloved fingertips rested on the back of his hand. The hairs on Sanson’s skin raised. “Is that what you told yourself during the Revolution?”</p><p>Sanson couldn’t look at her. The portraits above the graves gazed straight through him, their blurry eyes an accusation. “I cannot carry any regrets,” he muttered. “And neither can we.”</p><p>They remained side-by-side, the air thick with silence.</p><p>“I don’t regret my death,” Marie said, “and you shouldn’t regret your role. I think it was very kind of you, Sanson, to send us off painlessly.”</p><p>“It didn’t hurt at all?”</p><p>“No. The guillotine’s kiss was as gentle as could be. I can only hope those we left behind—” Her words shook. “—those we snuffed out—felt the same.”</p><p>His hand twined with hers, and there was nothing more to be said.</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>i've never written sanson or marie before, so i hope their voices came out ok in this piece!! it was pretty fun and challenging to make this fit under 1k and there was soooo much i wound up wanting to put in abt executioners and their parallels with the lbs but thats the writing life !!!! hope yall enjoy this :^)</p></blockquote></div></div>
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